handling a workplace without showers?

How do you (if at all) handle working in a location that does not offer
shower facilities? I've been head hunted for a position at a place that
I know quite of a few people, however they have no shower facilities and
no bike facilites what so ever.

Also this place of employment is about 30km one way from my house, so
it could turn out that if I commuted anyway that the large time on the
bike could turn into junk k's, and potentially could require to be
transporting a laptop and gear.

Currently I do not own a car, and this new job would require one (not a
bad thing, they pay an allowance for it). So that at least could then
give me some freedom to put the bike in the car to/from work and then
do some proper training runs (say Tuesday night crit's at Sandown with
CCCC), to boost the 'quality' of training time rather than potentially
large junk k's with commuting.

So how do you deal with the shower issue? and what kind of car would
you as a cyclist get (assume ~$40k new), i'm thinking second
hand/ex-demo, and what is perking my mind is something like a Toyota
Yaris or splash out a bit and get a VW Polo GTI. The best car in the
range, and very popular with cyclists appears to be the Subaru
Liberty/Outback/Forester. Good cars, just expensive.


--
parawolf

On Jan 30, 8:54 am, parawolf parawolf.2l6...@no-
mx.forums.cyclingforums.com wrote:
and what kind of car would
you as a cyclist get (assume ~$40k new), i'm thinking second
hand/ex-demo, and what is perking my mind is something like a Toyota
Yaris or splash out a bit and get a VW Polo GTI. The best car in the
range, and very popular with cyclists appears to be the Subaru
Liberty/Outback/Forester. Good cars, just expensive.


Bloody hell, you have lots of choice for $40k.

Subarus are good. I can fit my road bike into the back of an Impreza
with the rear seats folded down without taking the bike's front wheel
off. Unfortunately, I have to take the front wheel off my mountain
bike when I put that bike in the back.

A Forester shares the same platform as the Impreza. The Outback is a
raised version of the Liberty with slightly better undercarriage
protection (not that you want to take it bush bashing though).

You have to ask yourself if you really need a wagon. I haven't driven
an Outback or Liberty before, but the Imprezas and Foresters are nice
small cars to drive.

The problem with Subarus (especially Imprezas) is they hold their
value too well. I have been looking around for another one (though I
don't even have half your budget to spend!) and the ones on the second
hand market are pretty pricey. I mean, $15k for a '99 Impreza RX with
147k km on the odometer???

Subarus apart, any hatchback should do. If you want the extra space in
the back then you can consider getting roof rack carriers or a tow
ball carrier. I was always hesitant driving about town with 2 bikes on
the tow ball carrier but I haven't managed to ding my bikes yet.

Oh, and Jeremy Clarkson likes the Polo GTI ...

Personally, I'd never buy a second hand car again (but that's just me),
so I'd be tempted by the Yaris - that way you have your 3 year,
100,000km warranty which is far better than the so called 3 year
warranty on used cars (which require you to service them with the
dealer, which is ridiculous).

My mum and sister both drive a Yaris and they love them. Great on
fuel too - a lot better than a bigger Subaru.

Lotte


--
LotteBum

On Jan 29, 4:54 pm, parawolf parawolf.2l6...@no-
mx.forums.cyclingforums.com wrote:
How do you (if at all) handle working in a location that does not offer
shower facilities? I've been head hunted for a position at a place that
I know quite of a few people, however they have no shower facilities and
no bike facilites what so ever.

Also this place of employment is about 30km one way from my house, so
it could turn out that if I commuted anyway that the large time on the
bike could turn into junk k's, and potentially could require to be
transporting a laptop and gear.

Currently I do not own a car, and this new job would require one (not a
bad thing, they pay an allowance for it). So that at least could then
give me some freedom to put the bike in the car to/from work and then
do some proper training runs (say Tuesday night crit's at Sandown with
CCCC), to boost the 'quality' of training time rather than potentially
large junk k's with commuting.

So how do you deal with the shower issue? and what kind of car would
you as a cyclist get (assume ~$40k new), i'm thinking second
hand/ex-demo, and what is perking my mind is something like a Toyota
Yaris or splash out a bit and get a VW Polo GTI. The best car in the
range, and very popular with cyclists appears to be the Subaru
Liberty/Outback/Forester. Good cars, just expensive.

--
parawolf

Puzzled - what's a junk km? The only one I've ever done is one in a
car, when I could have been riding.

Donga

Donga wrote:

On Jan 29, 4:54 pm, parawolf parawolf.2l6...@no-
mx.forums.cyclingforums.com wrote:
How do you (if at all) handle working in a location that does not offer
shower facilities? I've been head hunted for a position at a place that
I know quite of a few people, however they have no shower facilities and
no bike facilites what so ever.

Also this place of employment is about 30km one way from my house, so
it could turn out that if I commuted anyway that the large time on the
bike could turn into junk k's, and potentially could require to be
transporting a laptop and gear.

Currently I do not own a car, and this new job would require one (not a
bad thing, they pay an allowance for it). So that at least could then
give me some freedom to put the bike in the car to/from work and then
do some proper training runs (say Tuesday night crit's at Sandown with
CCCC), to boost the 'quality' of training time rather than potentially
large junk k's with commuting.

So how do you deal with the shower issue? and what kind of car would
you as a cyclist get (assume ~$40k new), i'm thinking second
hand/ex-demo, and what is perking my mind is something like a Toyota
Yaris or splash out a bit and get a VW Polo GTI. The best car in the
range, and very popular with cyclists appears to be the Subaru
Liberty/Outback/Forester. Good cars, just expensive.

--
parawolf

Puzzled - what's a junk km? The only one I've ever done is one in a
car, when I could have been riding.

Donga

I know that my 28km commutes (with backpack) were fantastic
training and the surges in traffic got me ready to race some
low grade crits!

Tam

On Jan 30, 8:54 am, parawolf parawolf.2l6...@no-
mx.forums.cyclingforums.com wrote:
How do you (if at all) handle working in a location that does not offer
shower facilities? I've been head hunted for a position at a place that
I know quite of a few people, however they have no shower facilities and
no bike facilites what so ever.

I used to lock the toilet door and have a sponge bath, utilising the
hand washing basin. Nowadays I work for somewhere with showers.

You could try nearby gyms - maybe you could buy a "shower membership"?

HTH

Tony F
www.thefathippy.com

parawolf Wrote:
How do you (if at all) handle working in a location that does not offer
shower facilities? I've been head hunted for a position at a place that
I know quite of a few people, however they have no shower facilities and
no bike facilites what so ever.

Also this place of employment is about 30km one way from my house, so
it could turn out that if I commuted anyway that the large time on the
bike could turn into junk k's, and potentially could require to be
transporting a laptop and gear.

Currently I do not own a car, and this new job would require one (not a
bad thing, they pay an allowance for it). So that at least could then
give me some freedom to put the bike in the car to/from work and then
do some proper training runs (say Tuesday night crit's at Sandown with
CCCC), to boost the 'quality' of training time rather than potentially
large junk k's with commuting.

So how do you deal with the shower issue? and what kind of car would
you as a cyclist get (assume ~$40k new), i'm thinking second
hand/ex-demo, and what is perking my mind is something like a Toyota
Yaris or splash out a bit and get a VW Polo GTI. The best car in the
range, and very popular with cyclists appears to be the Subaru
Liberty/Outback/Forester. Good cars, just expensive.
Is there a gym or other shower facilities near this new work you could
use?

I find carrying a laptop isn't a problem, just stick it in a pannier.


--
SomeGuy

Riding less than 20km or so for a commute, I don't normally shower. I
just change and if it is a bit hotter, I'll use body wipes for a quick
clean. I would usually ride a bit gentler on the way in compared to the
ride home.

I usually carried a laptop daily in a decent backpack (Deuter Qasar)
that has a mesh framed back to avoid having the hard laptop against the
spine and for ventilation. I prefer the backpack to putting it in the
panniers as I sometimes ride on some dirt tracks on my commute, but for
comfort, the laptop in a padded bag in a pannier would be prefered.

We've had a Subaru Liberty for the last 10 years, and while it is a
comfortable ride, it has been pretty expensive to maintain. Fuel
consumption is fair, but services and repairs have cost us a heap over
that time. Next car for us might be a diesel, Hyundai Sante Fe, VW
Passat wagon, Mazda 6 wagon etc...


--
slaw

slaw Wrote:

We've had a Subaru Liberty for the last 10 years, and while it is a
comfortable ride, it has been pretty expensive to maintain. Fuel
consumption is fair, but services and repairs have cost us a heap over
that time. Next car for us might be a diesel, Hyundai Sante Fe, VW
Passat wagon, Mazda 6 wagon etc...

And if anyone knows about, or has, access to a (reasonably priced) air
suspension system replacement for a '92 Liberty, please contact Mr
Bikesoiler. The damn things akin to riding a ironing board at the mo.
pffff maybe should be x-posting this to the aus.cars circus.


--
cfsmtb

parawolf Wrote:
How do you (if at all) handle working in a location that does not offer
shower facilities?

I joined a nearby gym. At 60 odd bucks a month it was still way
cheaper than PT or buying a car.

If you have to buy a car, fair enough, but do you? Would taxis do the
job for you? I guess I'm lucky because I was an incumbent when work
decided that they needed 24/7 recall. I said fine, don't expect me to
buy a car though, you want me then you'd better get me a taxi. In the
long run it works out a lot cheaper for the business and me that way.


parawolf Wrote:
Also this place of employment is about 30km one way from my house, so it
could turn out that if I commuted anyway that the large time on the bike
could turn into junk k's

They could.... ;-) but then again if you planned it right it could
turn in to valuable training. I did ATB in under eight hours, the only
training I did was riding to and from work. Wonder what will happen if
I manage to get some structure in to my riding?


parawolf Wrote:
and potentially could require to be transporting a laptop and gear.

I'd seriously think about getting a rack and panniers. Your back will
thank you for it.

parawolf Wrote:
So how do you deal with the shower issue? and what kind of car would you
as a cyclist get (assume ~$40k new), i'm thinking second hand/ex-demo,
and what is perking my mind is something like a Toyota Yaris or splash
out a bit and get a VW Polo GTI. The best car in the range, and very
popular with cyclists appears to be the Subaru
Liberty/Outback/Forester. Good cars, just expensive.

We've found the Toyota Corolla to be an excellent car. For short trips
we put the bikes in the back no problem (have to take the front wheel
off) and for longer trips we use an Allen strap on rack which does the
job well.

My boss's brother-in-law has a Corolla with 350,000 on the clock, fuel
economy not bad and safety wise it's up there with the best.

Vlad's got a Golf, not sure if it's a GTI. I know that on one trip to
Beechworth he managed two mountain bikes, luggage for two, coffee
machine and the kitchen sink (joking on the last one but the coffee
machine's true) in the back. Looked like a three dimensional jigsaw
but he got it all in.

HTH.


--
EuanB